Hot & Snowy
by London1
Summary: Holiday Spooktacular Challenge. Short Valentine's Day story. If someone wants to write an addition to this, that'd be cool. R&R!


Hot & Snowy

By London

Disclaimer: I do not own Beetlejuice. I do own a model pirate ship though.

Note: This is a short tale in response to the Holiday Spooktacular Challenge. (See the Forums)

It was a hot, snowy, February night in Connecticut. Lydia was sprawled out across her bed in black shorts and a plain black tank top. Her father had tried to fix the furnace, but ended up making the house fill with heat. Before Lydia was her television. She watched in a trance-like state as a woman transformed into a robot and then back into a woman in "Metropolis".

Lydia moved, trying to get more comfortable and grumbled. While she loved the Fritz Lang movie, she was just not in the mood to watch it. She pulled herself from her bed and started flipping through her movies.

The house had been hot since just after noon, jumping to a whopping 87-degrees Fahrenheit, and the only one who seemed to hate it desperately was Lydia. The people who fixed furnace problems couldn't get to them until Monday, today was Saturday. Delia had used the heat as a chance to wander the house in skimpy outfits when she wasn't out doing stuff in town. Lydia was sure that her dad had finally snapped. He had put on his usual vacation clothes and had been watching old re-runs of "Gilligan's Island". The Maitland's, the two ghosts upstairs, way of dealing with the heat was to fill the attic with calypso and mambo music.

Lydia pulled out a few movies and stared at them, as if by some magical means the movie she really wanted to watch would glow or fly into the DVD-player. Lydia glared at one of the few movies she had pulled out. It was a romantic-comedy. Why had she pulled that one out? She didn't need to be reminded that it was Valentine's Day. She had had plenty of help with that from Claire, the blonde bimbo from school.

Claire.

The name alone made her want to scream and punch something. Lydia moved to grab her bottle of water and guzzled it. The ice had already melted and she had just refilled it only 20-minutes ago. Lydia sighed and went back to the movies she had out.

"Okay" Lydia said aloud to make herself focus on the movies. "What are we watching tonight? 'Defending Your Life', a black comedy about the afterlife? 'Ladyhawke', a fantasy movie that I've seen a bazillion times? Or, option three, 'Bad Taste', early Peter Jackson film?"

"I wouldn't mind seeing a half-naked Michelle Pfiffer" A gravelly voice said from behind her. Lydia spun around with her mouth hanging open. "Why the hell is it so hot in here, babes?"

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" Lydia asked. She hadn't seen the ghost for a few years. Adam had assured Lydia that he'd never be back.

"I want to know why it's so fucking hot in here" Beetlejuice said gruffly. He was sitting on top of her heavy wooden dresser in black pants, his usual boots, and a striped dress shirt that was only partially tucked in. "Did you guys recently become Hell or something?"

"My dad broke the furnace" Lydia said. She couldn't take her eyes off of the man ghost before her. Hadn't he been eaten? He gave her a leering smile. "Weren't you…eaten?"

"Babes, I'm the ghost with the most. Do you really think one sandworm is enough to destroy the likes of me?" Beetlejuice asked. "Really. It's just insulting."

"Sorry" Lydia whispered. Her hand brushed a pen and it fell to the floor, breaking Lydia's focus on Beetlejuice. She picked it up and cleared her throat. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I brought you something" Beetlejuice said. He jumped down from the dresser and stalked around the room until he stood a few feet from a wide-eyed Lydia. Beetlejuice didn't spend any time hiding the fact that he was checking Lydia out. "You're looking good babes. How long has it been?"

"I…um, thanks…I…You…two…two years" Lydia said trying to figure out what was going on. Her mind clicked and she had the good sense to move away from Beetlejuice in a discreet manner. "Why would you bring me something? What do you want?"

"Hey, I'm just here to say 'thanks', Lyds" Beetlejuice said gesturing with slight over-exaggeration. Lydia's brow furrowed.

"Thanks for what?" Lydia asked cautiously. She watched as Beetlejuice moved to recline on her bed. He looked like some kind of cat.

"Here" Beetlejuice said fishing for something inside of his shirt. He pulled out a rag that was bloodstained and was holding something. He tossed the wad to Lydia. The rag was wet with blood and had a coppery smell. Lydia pushed the cloth aside, revealing a bloody heart. Lydia smirked and touched it with morbid fascination. "Tis me heart, kind lady." Lydia looked at Beetlejuice, who cackled the moment she looked at him. "It's from a butcher shop, babes. My own way of saying 'thanks' and 'Happy Valentine's Day'."

"Thanks for what though?" Lydia asked. She looked at her hands; they were both covered with dark crimson liquid. She looked around for something to put the heart on or in.

"I can't tell you" Beetlejuice said. Lydia scratched her forehead with her arm and decided to put the heart in a small lunchbox that had displayed the death tarot card on the front. Lydia grabbed a rag that was near her art supplies and wiped her hands, while turning to glare at Beetlejuice.

"Why can't you tell me?" Lydia asked. She could feel a trickle of sweat run down her back. She groaned and moved to open her window, getting blood on the window sill in the process.

"Cause the less you know, the better off I am" Beetlejuice replied. He watched her brace the window open with a small piece of wood. The cool winter breeze was very pleasant. "I guess I should be happy that you haven't called for your folks or anything, but really, I could care less."

"Oh really?" Lydia said. She put her hands on her hips and moved to sit in her desk chair. "How'd you get out this time?"

"I've been out for a while" Beetlejuice said with a wide smile. He didn't want to remind her that when they were supposed to be married, his name had only been said twice. He brushed his hand over the bed. "Want to sit over here?"

"No" Lydia said flatly. "If you've been out for a while, then why bother coming back here?" Beetlejuice shrugged and laid down so he was on his back on the bed. Lydia rolled her eyes. "Why bring me a Valentine's Day present? Why even bother?"

"Hey, if you don't like it, just give it back" Beetlejuice said. He had spun his head so he could glare at her.

"I—No. I like it." Lydia replied.

"Then why question it?" Beetlejuice replied. He looked up at the ceiling. To Lydia he looked like he was in the middle of a peaceful moment. She moved to stand at his side, she looked down at him.

"What am I supposed to call you? Your name sends you away" Lydia asked. Beetlejuice smiled when he noticed that her interest was piqued and that she had a few smudges of blood on her arms and chest.

"I dunno" Beetlejuice said. "BJ, Beej, something like that, though I'll allow Master, God, and Highness."

"How about Hind-Ass?" Lydia asked raising an eyebrow. Beetlejuice's smile flat-lined. Lydia smirked and put 'Ladyhawke' into her DVD player. She moved to sit on the bed, out of Beetlejuice's reach, but on the bed nonetheless. "I'll call you Beej."

"You ain't sending me back or anything?" Beetlejuice asked.

"Do you want me to?" Lydia asked. Beetlejuice replied by pointing to his clothes and having them change to shorts and a tank top.

"I hope you like the heart Lyds. I got that one from Paris, the city of love" Beetlejuice said moving to make a kissy face at her.

"Yeah, I like it. Thanks" Lydia said moving until she was nearly off the bed. Beetlejuice relented and got himself comfortable.

"Happy Valentine's Day, babes" Beetlejuice said. Lydia, hoping that he was going to keep his hands to himself, laid down on her stomach to watch the movie.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Beej" Lydia replied. The cool air gently flowed over them and made the room a little cooler.


End file.
